What do junkyards pay for junk cars?

If you’re looking to sell your old junk car, there are a few options available to you.

First, you could sell your vehicle to a private buyer. This is the option that the vast majority of people think of first. Usually, this takes the form of an online classified website such as Craigslist. Junk car owners will take photos of their vehicle, post an online classified ad, and hope that an interested buyer contacts them. Unfortunately, this rarely happens: for the most part, private buyers aren’t looking to pay cash for junk cars.

Second, you could call around to dealerships. This generally turns out the same way as trying to sell your junk car to a private buyer, though. Dealerships generally aren’t looking to pay cash for junk cars.

The most viable option for selling your junk car involves working with so-called junk car buyers: either a junkyard, scrap yard, or a specialized junk car buyer like Junk Car Traders. If you opt to go this route, you might be wondering: how much will a junkyard pay for my old vehicle? The answer is a little complicated; but, we’ll break it down for you in layman’s terms.

How junkyards determine price

When assessing the value of your vehicle, a junkyard will take a number of factors into account. Each of them is an important component of their decision making process.

1) Vehicle year

How old is your car? If you’ve got a vehicle that’s 20, 25, or even 30 years old, it’s going to be worth significantly less than something that was manufactured just a couple of years ago. If your car’s particularly new, its value might be determined based upon what it could hypothetically sell for at an auto auction. But if your car is older, though, then that kind of pricing won’t apply.

2) Make, model, and condition

These variables all interact with each other, as well as with the year of the vehicle, in determining the value of your car. Again, if your car is relatively new, and if it’s in good condition, then the make and model will have an impact on its value based upon what the car could go far if it were auctioned off. However, if the condition is poor and the vehicle is old, the make and model are only important insofar as they have an impact on the next factor.

3) Vehicle weight

If you’ve got a particularly old, beat up, worn out, rusty old junk car, then its value will be based almost entirely upon its weight. Specifically, the value of the vehicle is determined by assessing the amount of scrap metal that your car contains, which is a function of its overall weight. The amount of scrap metal is then priced out based upon the current price of scrap metal, at which point a junkyard is able to quote you a price for your vehicle.

If you’re looking to sell your junk car, don’t get ripped off by a local junkyard or scrap yard: a lot of them charge hidden fees, and require you to pay more towing. Instead, call Junk Car Traders: we can beat any other offer in your area. In South Dakota we are known for out top notch customer service. To learn more, visit our website at JunkCarTraders.com.